Pitt HC Reveals Game Plan for Season

PITTSBURGH - The Pitt Panthers didn't play well in the first half vs. Pitt-Johnstown in the final preseason tune-up. They certainly didn't play like the team that head coach Jeff Capel has become accustomed to seeing lately.

Pitt led Pitt-Johnstown, a Division II squad whose tallest player is 6-foot-4, by just five points at the break. It was a sloppy half, full of turnovers and subpar defense (allowing UPJ guard Will Kromka to score 20 points), and Capel felt like his team did itself a disservice.

Capel, when asked about his message to the team at the halftime break, holding a slim 47-42 lead, didn't mince words.

"We've been really good in practice, and we were really good against Providence," Capel said after the game. "And we were not in the first half of that game. I thought we disrespected (ourselves) because we didn't show up with the same intensity, the same attention to detail that we had last week when we played Providence. And we can't be a team that just thinks we can show up.

"There's a certain way that we have to show up. We aren't one of those teams that is just going to out-talent you; we're not. That's not who we are. We have talent, but we don't have the type of talent that some of these teams do. But if we're tough, and we're together, and we play like a team with an edge like we did last week, like we did in spurts today, then we can be a really good team.

"What I told them at halftime is that you didn't come here to be a 'spurt guy' or 'spurt team.' You came here to be really good. And it requires a lot of discipline. It requires showing up the right way and the right attitude. And most importantly, it requires a level of respect for us and what we're trying to do on this journey. So, this was good for us. This was a great learning experience for us."

Pitt's Jeff Capel Reacts to Sloppy Play

Capel praised Pitt-Johnstown profusely in his post-game comments, opening his statement with praise for UPJ coach Bob Rukavina and the Mountain Cats, but the slow start came down to what the Panthers did - or in this case, didn't do.

Pitt didn't play well defensively, wasn't aggressive on the boards and turned the ball over nine times. That allowed UPJ to stay in the game.

The Panthers rode a 24-5 run over the first six minutes of the second half to a 71-47 lead, fueled by stronger defense, pressing the Mountain Cats to the tune of 14 second half turnovers and limiting opportunities in the paint, and didn't look back.